Confusion
by samtana
Summary: Aang is frustrated during firebending training after the Ember Island Players production. There are obvious reasons for this. Your standard short story. Kataang, Maiko out of necessity.


I figured I'd make my first post (not my first fanfic, mind you) something more... conventional than I'm used to. I don't want you all to run away when I start to actively attack the cliches normally attached to my favorite pairing, Kataang. I usually don't go for fanfics where nothing happens but a heart-to-heart conversation and I really have problems with Aang not being able to think about anything but Katara. I think that's out of his character. So here is a fic that features a heart-to-heart conversation and Aang not able to think about anything but Katara.

*sigh*

This story attempts to solve the major Kataang problem that the Ember Island Players posed, namely that Katara doesn't seem to be into Aang that way. Where does she change since then to accept Aang's love? The writers never really give an answer for this, so we have to make it up ourselves. Please let me know if you have a solution. This problem keeps me up at night. A lot of the stories in my favorites attack this problem, too. Indaverk's "Don't Ask Me" is a particularly good solution. Mine is a little different.

So, conventional fanfic, go!

I don't own anything about Avatar, but I hope it's written well enough to confuse you. I hope...

**Confusion**

"No," said Zuko, shaking his head. "Firebending comes from the breath."

Aang's shoulders collapsed and he hung his head. "I know, I know," he grumbled. "I just can't get it."

"Try it again," The instructor insisted. Aang sighed and straightened up, assuming his stance, one foot and one fist extended and another of each stoically maintaining his position. He whirled around and punched the air, a modest ball of fire extending from his fist. It took a direction he hadn't anticipated and set a plant by the side of the courtyard on fire, sending Katara to quickly put it out, moving her gorgeous body flawlessly with the water from her canteen.

Aang groaned and collapsed to a seat.

"That was pathetic," sneered Zuko. "Fire is alive. You have to learn to work with it, not argue with it."

"I'm trying," complained Aang, facing away from the water tribe girl who walked back to her seat next to the reclined Toph.

"No, you're not," countered Zuko. "You're getting worse at this each time you try it. It's supposed to get easier, not harder! Now stand up!"

Aang slowly pushed himself to his feet, not using airbending. He assumed his stance again, looking as flimsy and unconvincing as ever, even though his eyes mocked a warrior's expression. He held his position for a few moments, the dropped his arms and sighed disappointedly. He turned to face Katara and Toph.

"You know, it's a little hard to concentrate with you two staring at me all the time," snapped Aang. "Can I try this alone with Zuko for once?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Katara snapped back sarcastically. "I wasn't aware my presence was so undesired."

Aang tried as hard as he could not to look at the ground. He failed.

"There's nothing going on here," complained Toph. "What do you want us to do, Twinketoes?"

"I don't know," said Aang, shaking his head sadly. "Go get food or something."

"Already done," said Toph, picking at her toes.

"You heard him, Toph," said Katara, standing up. "He just wants us to leave him alone, so that's what we'll do."

Toph grumbled on her way to her feet and followed Katara out of the courtyard, the conversation between them continuing as they made their exit. Zukko watched Aang's eyes follow Katara out the courtyard, lingering on her shadow even after she had left. Aang sighed and Zuko lifted his eyebrow.

"You might want to tell Sokka and Suki not to interrupt us, too," said Zuko. "Where are they, anyway?"

"Training on the cliffs," mumbled Aang, his eyes now fixed on the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

"I'm sure," said Zuko indifferently. "Okay, try it again."

Aang took a deep breath through his nose and fell back into his stance. Zuko cocked his head slightly. Aang whirled around and threw his left fist into the air sending a fireball flowing out from his balled hand. Zuko clapped his hands together.

"That's better," he said. "But you're still relying too much on the muscle. Frustration shouldn't be the fuel for your firebending."

Aang buried his head in his hands and let out a frustrated growl, composing himself again with a deep breath through the nose. He tried the move again and found Zukko shaking his head again.

"Maybe we should take a break," said the instructor.

Aang's head fell between his shoulders. "Sounds good," he croaked, making his way to the stairs and plopping down. Zuko threw some water from the fountain over his face, used a cloth to wipe his sweat, and put his shirt back on.

"Let's think about something other than firebending," he said, joining Aang on the stairs. "It could help."

Aang stared at the ceiling.

"What happened to that upbeat attitude you're always talking about?" asked Zuko. "You're acting a lot like, well, like me, actually."

"Is it a bad thing to act like you?" retorted Aang uncharacteristically.

Zuko sighed. "You know, a lot of firebenders would be thrilled to get as far as you did in a single morning," he said, frowning. Cheering people up was not his specialty.

"Well, most firebenders don't have to defeat the Firelord before the comet comes," said Aang.

The pair sat on the stairs in uncomfortable company. The sounds of birds echoed throughout the trees around them, the trickling of water from the fountain, the rustling of leaves, the distant push and pull of the waves. How could anyone's mind be at peace in a place like this?

"Do you feel like talking at all?" asked Zuko.

Aang turned to give Zuko a quizzical look. "Talking about what?"

"What's on your mind."

Aang laughed without really meaning it. "You sound like Katara," he said. His smile faded.

"What's wrong between you two?" asked Zuko. "What happened since the play to made you two so distant?"

"Nothing," said Aang quickly. He blushed and looked away. He could feel Zuko's disbelieving expression on the back of his head. "How did you know?" he whispered without turning to face him.

"You make it pretty obvious," said Zuko, looking out at the water flow down the fountain. "How else am I supposed to interpret you telling her to go but your eyes telling her to stay?"

Aang breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It'll make your firebending better," commented Zuko. "It's hard to control fire with your mind in too many places at once."

"I'm getting better at keeping myself focused," said Aang. "Ever since I lost Appa and I couldn't handle it I've been trying to keep myself in the moment. But I can just feel her there, and it breaks my concentration."

Footsteps came from down the hallway along with the sarcastic voice of Sokka along with Suki's cheerful laugh.

"Quick, pretend like we're practicing," whispered Zuko. The pair jumped to their feet to practice the dance of the dragon. Sokka and Suki found seats on the steps to watch, continuing their conversation. Zuko noticed their presence have no effect whatsoever on Aang's performance of the dance.

"You're getting really good at that," said Sokka once they had finished. "A few more weeks and you could try it at a party."

Suki laughed.

"Do you mind?" snapped Aang. "We're training here!"

"Okay, okay," said Sokka, standing up and putting Suki under his arm. "By the way, does anyone know why Katara's crying? She wouldn't tell me."

"Katara's crying?" repeated Aang.

"I have no idea," said Zuko.

"Where is she?" asked Aang, the reluctance in his voice obvious. "I'll go talk to her."

"She's in her room," Sokka gestured. Aang followed the pointing finger to her room. "Hey, Zuko, want to hit the beach with us?" called Sokka.

"No thanks," said Zuko. Sokka shrugged and walked out of the courtyard with his arm around Suki.

Once Sokka and Suki had left Aang gathered the courage to knock on the door and, not hearing a reply, open it. Inside was Katara sitting cross-legged and facing away from the door, her hair cascading gracefully down her back. Aang gulped.

"Katara," he said at nearly a whisper.

"Hi, Aang," she replied just as softly.

"Are you okay?" he asked needlessly.

"I'm fine," she muttered, her voice wavering. "I just need to be alone right now."

"I didn't mean to hurt you by what I said."

"It wasn't you," said Katara. "It was something Toph said."

"What did she say?" asked Aang, closing the door and kneeling down. "You can talk to me."

"No, thank you," she said nasally. "I just want to be alone."

"Whenever I'm feeling like that I always know I can talk to you," he encouraged. "You can talk to me, too, you know."

"Please," whispered Katara as she quivered. "Please just leave me alone."

Aang watched her body tremble as she cried, then stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him. He walked down the hallway back to the courtyard, kicking a pot over as he walked and bruising his toe.

"Didn't go well, huh." said Zuko. It wasn't a question.

"Toph said something that upset her," said Aang. "At least that's what she's telling me."

"I see," said Zuko. "So I guess training is done for the day?"

"No," said Aang. "I need to get my mind off of this." But instead of joining Zuko in the courtyard he sat back down on the steps. "But I can't."

Zuko sat down next to Aang. "I can pretty much guess what happened," said Zuko. "You're in love with her, aren't you."

Aang looked at Zuko's scar. "On the day of the invasion I kissed her," he said, looking away again. "I had been gathering the courage for months and I finally did it. I always thought that after I kissed her everything would be perfect and we would be together. The kiss was supposed to be the hard part. But it was just the start. At the play we were talking about it and she said that it's not the right time. She said we're in the middle of a war and that she was confused. But it doesn't make sense. I'm not confused even though we're in a war. Sokka and Suki aren't confused even though we're in the middle of a war."

Aang sighed, his lower lip quivering, his eyes glazing over. "I think she doesn't want to tell me she doesn't love me back," he said so softly it was if he had only mouthed the words. Zukko watched Aang try to control his breathing, in and out, slowly but surely filling his lungs with air, the chest of the most powerful being in the world rising and falling with the pain of unrequited love.

"I know a thing or two about being confused," said Zuko, leaning back. "Believe it or not, I have a girlfriend back home."

"Really?" said Aang, surprise drying his tears.

"Well, she hates me now," said Zuko, eyes on the ceiling. "I've been confused all my life. You know that better than most. But I was never confused about Mai."

"Mai?" exclaimed Aang. "That mopey girl with the knives?"

"That's the one," said Zuko, a semblance of a smile forming on his face, the smile of someone remembering something idyllic from childhood. "I've always had feelings for her, even since before I was banished. So when I came back after Ba Sing Se we started a relationship. But I was still confused. I had the life I always wanted but I was still unhappy. When I decided to join your group I hurt her badly. Once I was done being confused my duties took me away from her. I always knew how much she means to me, but I can't be with her until this war is over. It's pretty ironic, actually."

"Hm," said Aang. "So what exactly does this have to do with Katara?"

"Katara is the strongest girl I have ever met," said Zuko, "though don't tell Toph. My guess is that she's got a lot on her mind. She probably knows better than to start a relationship while other things are confusing her."

Aang smiled. "Thanks, Zuko." He stood up. "So the sooner I beat the Fire Lord the sooner we can be together?"

"Does that motivate your training a little more?"

"You bet!" said Aang, prancing out to the courtyard. "Hey, Zuko," he asked timidly as his mentor took his shirt off and walked into the sunlight. "Do you really think she loves me?"

Zuko shrugged at Aang's blush. "She's fought with her life to protect you. Trust me, I know."

Aang's eyes widened and he sprinted back into the house. "I'll be back in just a second!" he called back to Zuko. He rode the air scooter down the hallway, picking up the pot he had knocked over, and let himself down carefully in front of Katara's door. He knocked, then opened when he didn't hear an answer. Katara was still sitting cross-legged on the floor, but her body wasn't quivering anymore.

"Katara," he said.

"Hi Aang," she grumbled. It was obvious she didn't want him here.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm going to beat the Firelord as soon as possible so we can end this war. No one will ever have to face the same fate as your mother or the other airbenders. I want to promise you that I will make sure we see peace sometime soon and that you can be happy."

Katara turned to look at Aang. Her face wore no tears, but it was obvious from the redness that she had been crying and rubbing her eyes earlier. Despite their recent trauma her eyes were still round and pure.

"I don't know what Toph said," continued Aang. "But I will do whatever I can to make things better for you, just like you always do for me. I just wanted you to know that."

Aang turned to go, but Katara turned him around and gave him a tight hug. He buried his face into her long, wavy brown hair and breathed in her scent deeply.

"Thank you, Aang," she said. "I'll remember that."

----------------------------------------------------

This is so cliche I can't stand it. My other stories will be much different, trust me. I make the promise. I hope the characters weren't too out of character for you. -samtana


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